Jerobijin van Wyk’s killer, Daniel Smit, will be sentenced on Monday after he was found guilty of the 13-year-old’s brutal murder this week.

READ: Daniel Smit, from Klawer, convicted in Jerobejin Van Wyk murder

Sentencing proceedings were held in the Vredendal Court, where the State and Smit’s defence called witnesses in aggravation and mitigation of sentence, respectively.

A heartbreaking letter, penned by Jerobijin’s mother Triesa, was read in court as the grieving mother sobbed in the gallery. Many in court could not hold back their own tears.

Warning: The letter could upset sensitive readers – it has been translated from the original Afrikaans. The original letter is attached below

I, Triesa Van Wyk, am writing this letter to the Court to reveal my deepest pain so that everyone present in the Court today knows how a mother’s heart feels after her child is so cruelly and brutally taken from her.

That day, I arrived home as I would on any normal day. Like any weary breadwinner, I had to find out that my child was missing. The next day, after a sleepless night, when the news broke of what happened to my child, my heart shattered into a hundred pieces. Suddenly, life no longer made sense for me… not even the presence of my remaining daughter could soothe my pain.

I was there the day before; do you remember? I asked you where my child was. I cannot fathom how, in your capacity as a parent yourself, you could bring yourself to murder another parent’s child so brutally and even dismember them. He was no animal. My heart aches because I will never, ever understand what went through your mind. Through it all, I kept hoping it wasn’t true… that he would come bursting through the door as always…

The crowds, the media… they shattered what little hope I had because my life was irrevocably changed. Nothing makes sense anymore… the first of many sleepless nights was about to begin. I found myself looking, hoping he would be in his usual place. I served his food, only to be jolted back to reality… MY CHILD IS DEAD.

My child’s life on earth was ended… not by God, but by the hand of a person. I struggle to accept the suspect as a civilized human because what parent murders another’s child… a defenseless child?

On the day we were taken to the morgue, I expected at least to see a body… only to be met by a small plastic bag with incomplete body parts. I still want to know: “What were my child’s last words? Did he call out my name? Was he already dead when you carved him up?”

My heart is still in shreds. You truly hurt my child terribly.

My entire family has been affected by the brutal way in which my child died. My daughter has since left school and begun living recklessly. My mother’s health rapidly deteriorated and she has since passed away. After all, she was his beloved grandmother.

I still have sleepless nights. When I close my eyes, I hear my child calling out to me, and I see in my mind’s eye how my child was cut into pieces. Tomorrow seems impossible… it feels as if I failed my child. To think that I gave birth to a whole body and got pieces back. I cannot express myself fully to give the court an idea of what truly goes on in my heart. I pray that God quiets the feelings I have toward the suspect.

I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF TIME WILL HEAL THIS.

I FEEL COMPELLED TO PLEAD WITH THE COURT TO KEEP THIS TYPE OF MONSTER OUT OF THE COMMUNITY COMPLETELY.

I SAY AGAIN, I WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER FORGIVE HIM.

Signed: TRIESA VAN WYK